This strain was recommended to me by a friend who happens to also be a budtender back in my home state of PA. She told me it was a good day time strain if I wanted to get some stuff done – and she was right . . . kinda. Let’s break it down:

Consumption Method: Dry Herb Vape (Arizer Solo 2)
Type: Sativa
Genetics: One of the oldest strains, so this one just has a city of origin: Durban, South Africa
Terpenes: Terpinolene, Ocimene, Limonene, Myrcene, beta-Caryophyllene, Pinene (alpha and beta)
Scent: Not super strong, vaguely sweet, little like pine and skunk had a lovechild, teensy bit earthy
Taste:  Pine, earth, sage, and banana peel(??) – Very weird but distinctly tasted like the way banana peel smells on the exhale
Feelings: Tingly sensations in whole face and shoulders, floating head, floating hands, drooping in the face, completely disconnected from everything except what was right in front of my face, head empty, physically stimmy
Negative Effects: Lengthy nonverbal episode (honest neutral about it tbh, don’t mind being nonverbal), extremely sleepy once it started wearing off, heavy dissociation on the comedown (again, little bit neutral), jaw tightness (a LOT of it)

Let’s Talk About the Terpenes We Haven’t Covered Yet:

Terpinolene: This is one of the rarest terpenes, and usually lurks in the background. In Durban Poison however, it’s the main player. Other terpinolene dominant strains include Dutch Treat, Jack Herer, Chernobyl, and Golden Pineapple. Unlike most other terpines, it has a multi-dimensional scent: a little piney, a little floral, and a little herbaceous, and even a little citrusy. It’s found in lilacs, nutmeg, and cumin, and is said to have an uplifting effect. Because it has such a fresh scent, it’s often used in perfumes.
Ocimene: Found in mint, parsley, and orchids, this terpene has a floral, sweet scent. It has anti-inflammatory properties, and it’s being studied as a treatment for the symptoms of diabetes. It is also known for it’s uplifting effects in cannabis. Other strains containing ocimene include Clementine, Dutch Treat, and Amnesia.

How Was the High?

This strain was a DOOZY. Lucky for me my only plan for the day once I clocked out was to work on a crochet project. What I will say is that if you have a mindless, tedious task that you don’t want to do, this will help you just zone right out and do it. Is it good for projects where you have to do a lot of thinking? Not for me, anyway.

The first thing I noticed was a nice tingly sensation in the temples moving down toward the jaw, which was tightening up after only a few puffs of my vape. The sensation then moved to my cheeks and forehead before eventually covering my whole face and scalp. It felt like my face was being pulled down, and I had a neutral expression I couldn’t shake even though I was in a happy mood. My resting face as an autistic person tends to look sad or even angry so it was kinda like my face was stuck like that. I also felt some light tingles on my shoulders, which was pleasant.

After a few minutes my head started floating away from my body and my neck felt really loose. I couldn’t stop bobbing my head around because it felt weird.

I got a LOT of crocheting done during this high, because I couldn’t tear myself away from it. I crocheted for about 2.5 hours straight without any real breaks. It was complete tunnel vision, and I couldn’t focus on anything else. While crocheting my hands felt floaty and disconnected from my body. I also couldn’t stop swaying back and forth. It was quite the picture – I was crocheting, bobbing my head around like a parrot, and swaying back and forth all at the same time. I had the theme for Howl’s Moving Castle playing loudly inside my head and I was kinda moving to the beat but I was the only one who could hear it, so it must have looked pretty weird. But it felt good and the high made me not embarrassed, so I unmasked completely. At the peak of the high my whole body felt floaty.

Oh and did I mention I was completely nonverbal that whole time? I could make little noises to indicate yes/no on occasion but that’s it. My mouth felt like there was a weight keeping my lips closed. My husband and I have a hand signal that means “I am unable to talk right now” so he stuck to questions I could answer by nodding or shaking my head, so it didn’t cause significant problems. Usually when I use the hand signal it’s because I was so completely overstimulated I had a shutdown, so this was a nice change of pace.

The only time I did talk was when my echolalia took over. We were watching an episode of Worth It (our comfort show) about soup and I repeated the phrase “soup there it iiiis” because it tickled my brain enough to get through the fugue state I was in.

As the high started to wear off I started to dissociate heavily. I would randomly stop what I was doing, go completely still, and stare off into space for what felt like hours but definitely wasn’t. Eventually I just had to lay down for a nap because I kept closing my eyes while crocheting and couldn’t keep them open.

I will admit that I am an extreme lightweight when it comes to cannabis. So even a 15-minute session on my dry vape can really take me for a ride. After I woke up from my nap I felt spacey for the rest of the day, even though I didn’t have any more weed. I did enjoy some CBD beverages that were on sale at the dispensary, but CBD doesn’t do much for me unless it’s a huge dose. It wasn’t necessarily bad, but my brain felt incredibly slow.

TL;DR – Did it Help Manage My Neurodivergence?

Overstimulation: YES. I was so hyperfixated on one task that even the squeaking of the PS5 controller my husband was using didn’t bother me – and I usually have to run screaming for my headphones when it starts making that noise.
Understimulation: OH YEAH. I was physically stimming in a way I don’t think I ever have before.
Executive Function: If I decide what the ONE task is before I vape, yeah. I got a ton of crocheting done. But don’t ask me to do multiple tasks while vaping Durban Poison because I might not even hear you.
Focusing: 100% – complete tunnel vision. If you have ONE super long mindless task to do this works. I think as long as I decide what I need to focus on before I smoke I’ll probably be good. Otherwise it’s luck of the draw.